TL;DR

Request 4.0 ETH via an escrow milestone proposal to enhance the official Builder community site template (BuilderOSS/builder-template-app) with production-tested improvements from gnars.com, plus two upstream PR batches covering additional feature tracks.

Ask: 4.0 ETH via 3 milestones

Impact: raises the quality bar of the single authoritative Builder template, contributes production-tested feature tracks upstream, and reduces launch friction for new Builder communities.

Summary

Gnars has operated as a beta testing ground for Builder DAO infrastructure on Base, accelerating feature development through real-world validation. Our active collaboration with Builder maintainers has helped surface UX, governance, analytics, and bidding improvements in a live production environment.

After scoping feedback from Builder maintainers, we realigned this proposal around a key principle: there should be one authoritative, generic Builder template, not a separate Gnars-derived fork. This proposal funds the next step in our collaboration through a more accountable structure:

1. Contribute enhancements upstream to the official Builder template (BuilderOSS/builder-template-app), cherry-picking production-tested patterns from gnars.com that don't yet exist as ready components
2. Submit two upstream PR batches covering up to 8 production-tested feature tracks in the core SDK and related repos
3. Document, review, and report the resulting work in public

This milestone structure separates scoped deliverables (template enhancements) from work that depends on maintainer review, repository fit, and merge timing (upstream submissions).

Proposal Details

Context: Gnars as Builder's Beta Testing Partner

Gnars DAO has served as a production testing ground for Builder infrastructure on Base. Our collaboration with Builder maintainers has accelerated feature development:

• Rapid iteration: Features tested in production, bugs caught early
• Real-world validation: Patterns proven with actual users before upstream contribution
• Healthy inter-DAO collaboration: Regular sync with Builder team, shared learnings
• Reference implementation: Live site validating SDK evolution and best practices

This proposal funds the next phase: upstreaming proven work into the official Builder template and submitting the strongest feature tracks to core repositories in structured batches.

What will be delivered

1. Enhancements to the Official Builder Template

Contributions will be made directly to BuilderOSS/builder-template-app so the community continues to have a single authoritative template. Work includes:

• Cherry-picking generic, reusable patterns from gnars.com that don't yet exist as ready components in the template or SDK
• Keeping the template generic
• Improving configuration ergonomics (DAO address, network, theming hooks) where generically useful
• Improving deployment docs, setup guides, and fork-to-launch checklist
• Documentation mapping which improvements landed in the template vs. which were submitted to core packages

Impact: new Builder communities benefit from production-grade patterns in the official template, without fragmenting the ecosystem across competing forks.

2. Upstream PR Batch 1, lower-friction feature tracks

Modular governance and UX improvements with lower merge risk, targeted at the appropriate SDK/package/template repos:

• Voting Power Explanation Component
  Contextual messaging for confusing voting states such as no power at snapshot, delegated away, or incoming delegation timing.
• Vote Metrics Component Suite
  Color-coded vote cards, progress bars, quorum visualization, and state-aware display improvements.
• Active Member Detection
  Hook and logic for distinguishing active vs dormant holders using proposal participation windows.
• Time-Based Feed Alerts
  Client-side urgency events such as voting closing soon, auction ending soon, or delegate changed.

3. Upstream PR Batch 2, higher-complexity feature tracks

More complex tracks due to financial flow implications, architecture decisions, or product scope:

• 0xSplits Integration
  Split creation and multi-recipient distribution patterns in proposal or DAO workflows.
• Auction Bidding UX + Onchain Bid Comments
  Better bidding flow, min increment handling, chain checks, and optional bid comments.
• Treasury Analytics Package
  Historical treasury views, auction revenue aggregation, and participation analytics.
• Builder DAO CLI / ecosystem tooling
  Terminal tooling and agent-friendly interfaces, if accepted as Builder ecosystem scope rather than core package scope.

We are intentionally proposing feature tracks, not a guaranteed fixed number of merged PRs. Some tracks may be best delivered as one larger PR, multiple smaller PRs, design docs, issues, or ecosystem-scoped packages depending on maintainer feedback.

Milestone Structure

Milestone 1, Official Template Enhancements

Amount: 1.5 ETH
Target: ~Day 30

Deliverables:

• Upstream PRs against BuilderOSS/builder-template-app bringing cherry-picked, generic improvements from gnars.com
• Updated setup guide, deployment documentation, and fork-to-launch checklist (contributed to the template repo where appropriate)
• Documentation mapping each contribution to the template vs. items tracked for core-package submission in Batches 1 and 2

Acceptance criteria:

• Public links to PRs opened against builder-template-app
• Evidence of maintainer-facing submission and review engagement
• Clear scope map distinguishing template-level work from core SDK feature tracks
• Contributions remain generic, with no Gnars-specific branding or logic

Milestone 2, Upstream PR Batch 1

Amount: 1.25 ETH
Target: ~Day 60

Feature tracks:

• Voting Power Explanation Component
• Vote Metrics Component Suite
• Active Member Detection
• Time-Based Feed Alerts

Deliverables:

• Submit upstream PRs, or maintainer-requested equivalent issues/design docs, for Batch 1 tracks
• Technical documentation for repository placement and integration intent
• Review follow-up on submitted work

Acceptance criteria:

• Public links to submitted PRs, issues, or design docs
• Clear mapping from each Batch 1 track to implementation path
• Evidence of maintainer-facing submission and review engagement

Milestone 3, Upstream PR Batch 2 + Final Reporting

Amount: 1.25 ETH
Target: ~Day 90

Feature tracks:

• 0xSplits Integration
• Auction Bidding UX + Onchain Bid Comments
• Treasury Analytics Package
• Builder DAO CLI / ecosystem tooling, where appropriate

Deliverables:

• Submit upstream PRs, or maintainer-requested equivalent issues/design docs, for Batch 2 tracks
• Publish final report with all links, status, review outcomes, and adoption signals
• Summarize what shipped in the official template, what was submitted to core repos, and what remains ecosystem-scoped

Acceptance criteria:

• Public links to Batch 2 submissions
• Final report/post published with milestone evidence
• Complete status accounting for each feature track: template, submitted, merged, pending review, or deferred by maintainer feedback

Northstar Check

Builder DAO is dedicated to the creation and development of free and accessible DAO infrastructure as a public good.

This proposal furthers that mission by:

1. Strengthening the single authoritative template: Enhancements land in builder-template-app, not a competing fork, so every Builder community benefits.
2. Contributing production-tested patterns upstream: Feature tracks are validated in a live DAO environment before submission.
3. Improving accountability: Milestone-based escrow aligns treasury release with evidence of delivery.
4. Strengthening ecosystem collaboration: Gnars continues serving as a practical R&D layer for Builder infrastructure.

Treasury Impact

Total ask: 4.0 ETH via escrow milestones
Builder treasury: 15.59 ETH on Base

Milestone amounts:

• Milestone 1: 1.5 ETH
• Milestone 2: 1.25 ETH
• Milestone 3: 1.25 ETH

Contributors:

• Vlad
• r4topunk

Escrow structure:

• single escrow proposal with milestone-based releases
• safety valve set at least 30 days after the final milestone date

Internal contributor allocation can be handled between Vlad and r4topunk after each milestone release.

Team

Vlad (@gnarlyvlad)

• Role: Core contributor, DAO infrastructure
• Experience: Gnars DAO member, SkateHive infrastructure, multi-chain DAO tooling
• Responsibilities: Feature development, template contributions, deployment docs, maintenance

r4topunk (@r4topunk)

• Role: Lead developer
• Experience: Full-stack DAO development, Builder SDK patterns, production Next.js/wagmi apps
• Responsibilities: Repo architecture, upstream contributions, Builder dev collaboration

Why this team?

• Built and maintained gnars.com in production
• Deep knowledge of Builder SDK and subgraph patterns
• Track record of open-source contributions and documentation
• Already collaborating with Builder developers in practice

Ongoing collaboration with Builder engineering

Beyond the scoped milestones in this proposal, the Gnars team is open to continued collaboration with the current Builder engineering team through reporting, implementation feedback, and future development work where useful. We are also willing to be featured as contributors in future Builder DAO grant proposals involving engineering work, as a signal of long-term availability to support the ecosystem.

Transparency

No conflicts of interest.
Neither team member has received prior Builder DAO funding. Both are aware of tax information requirements for BuilderDAO admin.

Prior funding: None from Builder DAO. Gnars DAO has funded operational work, but not this package of template and upstream contribution work.

Timeline

Milestone 1, by ~Day 30

• Submit upstream PRs to builder-template-app
• Contribute improved setup and deployment docs
• Publish scope map between template-level work and upstream feature tracks

Milestone 2, by ~Day 60

• Submit Batch 1 upstream work
• Publish related technical notes
• Address first round of maintainer feedback

Milestone 3, by ~Day 90

• Submit Batch 2 upstream work
• Publish final report
• Summarize merges, pending reviews, deferred items, and template adoption signals

Reporting cadence:

• Public update every 2 weeks with links to progress
• Each milestone release request includes links to shipped artifacts, submissions, documentation, and a short public summary

Success Metrics

Core metrics, fully under team control

• Template enhancement PRs opened against builder-template-app by Milestone 1
• Two PR batches submitted with public links and technical rationale
• Documentation published for all proposed feature tracks
• Biweekly public progress updates throughout the funded period

Ecosystem outcome metrics

Links

• Official Builder template (contribution target): https://github.com/BuilderOSS/builder-template-app
• Gnars site (reference implementation): https://gnars.com
• Gnars repository (source of cherry-picked patterns): https://github.com/r4topunk/gnars-website
• Technical deep-dive: https://hackmd.io/@opKCkK6rT46g6DsCM2nlmQ/Sk4tISy9Wx
• Builder DAO CLI: https://github.com/r4topunk/builder-dao-cli
• Gnars Terminal (prior work): https://github.com/r4topunk/gnars-terminal